The Canadiens beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night, November 7, behind two first-period goals from Alex Newhook, a 26-save night from Jacob Fowler and a power-play goal from Zachary Bolduc that put the game away. Montreal is 11-3-3 with 25 points and has taken at least a point in 10 straight games, going 8-0-2 over that stretch, since the loss in Washington on October 14. Toronto fell to 8-8-2.
Montreal’s 10-game point streak is the first of that length in the NHL this season and the first for the Canadiens since the fall of 2016. They are 5-0-0 against the Atlantic Division this season and 12-1-0 in their 13 division games since January 31. Fowler is 8-0-1 during the streak, a nine-game point streak; the last rookie goaltender to put together a run that long at age 21 or younger was Braden Holtby, with nine games in 2010-11.
How the Game Was Won
The Canadiens did the thing that the preview said they needed to do: they scored first and then kept scoring. Alex Newhook opened the scoring at 5:56 of the first period with a wrist shot, set up by Oliver Kapanen, and made it 2-0 at 13:06 with a tip-in on a play set up by Kaiden Guhle and Kirby Dach. Montreal outshot Toronto 11-9 in the period.
Chris Kreider made it 3-0 at 12:57 of the second with an unassisted wrist shot that turned out to be the game-winning goal. It was Kreider’s third goal of the season. Toronto outshot Montreal 10-7 in the period, but the Leafs could not cut into the lead.
The third period is where the game got tense. Arber Xhekaj took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at 4:40, and William Nylander scored on the power play at 6:19 with a slap shot, then Gavin McKenna scored 55 seconds later at 7:14 to make it 3-2. Toronto had cut the lead to one goal in less than a minute, and Montreal answered. After Troy Stecher took a hooking penalty at 11:37, the first power-play unit went right back to work, and Zachary Bolduc scored on a slap shot at 12:15 with assists to Lane Hutson and Cole Caufield. The Canadiens then killed a double minor to Juraj Slafkovský with 3:33 left, and Toronto pulled Sergei Bobrovsky in the final minutes without scoring.
| Period | Time | Team | Goal | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5:56 | Canadiens | Alex Newhook (4), wrist shot | Oliver Kapanen |
| 1 | 13:06 | Canadiens | Alex Newhook (5), tip-in | Kaiden Guhle, Kirby Dach |
| 2 | 12:57 | Canadiens | Chris Kreider (3), wrist shot | Unassisted |
| 3 | 6:19 | Maple Leafs | William Nylander (11), power play | Raddysh, Matthews |
| 3 | 7:14 | Maple Leafs | Gavin McKenna (6) | Joshua, Sissons |
| 3 | 12:15 | Canadiens | Zachary Bolduc (6), power play | Lane Hutson, Cole Caufield |
The Newhook Line Does the Damage
The shift charts tell a different story from the lineup that was announced before the game. With Josh Anderson out for personal reasons, Owen Beck played with Kreider and Jake Evans, and Newhook spent most of the night with Kapanen and Dach. Newhook shared about 12 minutes of ice with Dach and 10 with Kapanen, and both of his goals came with those two on the ice. Kapanen and Dach each drew an assist, all three finished +2, and Newhook now has 5 goals and 9 points in 17 games.
Anderson’s absence shuffled the forward groups, and this trio scored twice in a game while playing between 11 and 14 minutes a night each. That is the kind of secondary scoring the Canadiens need when the top line is not the only one producing.
Fowler Answers After Tuesday
Jacob Fowler bounced back from the 5-4 overtime loss to Winnipeg with 26 saves on 28 shots (.929), and he is now 8-1-1 with a .925 save percentage, a 2.15 goals-against average and two shutouts in 10 games. The shot count was even at 28-28, but the Leafs came in with the sixth-ranked power play in the league and only scored once on four chances, and both Toronto goals came in the span of 55 seconds. Bobrovsky stopped 24 of 28 (.857).
What the Expected Goals Say
The models say Toronto had the better chances. One has the Leafs ahead 3.81 to 3.14 in expected goals at all situations and 2.50 to 2.29 at 5-on-5, and another has it 3.56 to 2.95 at all situations. At even strength it was close, but the Canadiens won this game with finishing and goaltending, not with volume.
That is where Jacob Fowler made the difference. He faced 3.56 expected goals against and allowed two, which is +1.56 goals saved above expected. Sergei Bobrovsky faced 2.57 expected goals against and allowed four, which is -1.43. That is a swing of about three goals between the two goalies in a game Montreal won by two.
Here is how the forward lines did at 5-on-5, in expected goals for and against and in actual goals. The Kapanen–Newhook–Dach unit had only 8:28 of 5-on-5 time, but it created 0.53 expected goals, gave up 0.19 and scored both of its goals there. Suzuki’s line was clearly ahead in chances over 13:16 without scoring. The Texier–Danault–Bolduc and Kreider–Evans–Beck units were both out-chanced, and the Kreider unit was on the ice for the one even-strength goal against.
| Unit | TOI | xGF | xGA | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slafkovský–Suzuki–Caufield | 13:16 | 0.69 | 0.35 | 0 | 0 |
| Texier–Danault–Bolduc | 10:53 | 0.37 | 0.96 | 0 | 0 |
| Kreider–Evans–Beck | 8:46 | 0.24 | 0.58 | 0 | 1 |
| Kapanen–Newhook–Dach | 8:28 | 0.53 | 0.19 | 2 | 0 |
On defense, Guhle and Carrier took the heavy 5-on-5 minutes and were out-chanced 1.49 to 0.96, with one goal each way. Hutson and Dobson were the pair that controlled play, 0.84 to 0.46, and the Xhekaj–Engstrom pair held its own in 7:30.
| Unit | TOI | xGF | xGA | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guhle–Carrier | 19:39 | 0.96 | 1.49 | 1 | 1 |
| Hutson–Dobson | 16:31 | 0.84 | 0.46 | 0 | 0 |
| Xhekaj–Engstrom | 7:30 | 0.25 | 0.18 | 1 | 0 |
One more number to take from this game is Game Score, a single-game rating that blends goals, assists, shots, chances and goals for and against. Newhook led the Canadiens at 3.73, followed by Kapanen at 2.86 and Dach at 2.18, then Fowler at 1.81 and Hutson at 1.78. The lowest three were Evans (-1.49), Danault (-1.31) and Carrier (-1.30), all players who were on the ice for more expected goals against than for.
Special Teams and Discipline
This was the matchup the preview pointed to, and Montreal won it. The Canadiens went 1 for 2 on the power play and killed three of Toronto’s four chances, including the double minor late in the third. They did take 8 penalty minutes to Toronto’s 4, and the Nylander goal came right after the Xhekaj penalty, so the discipline still needs work, but the penalty kill held when the game was on the line.
| Canadiens | Maple Leafs | |
|---|---|---|
| Final score | 4 | 2 |
| Shots on goal | 28 | 28 |
| Shots by period | 11 / 7 / 10 | 9 / 10 / 9 |
| Goalie | Fowler: 26 saves on 28 shots (.929) | Bobrovsky: 24 saves on 28 shots (.857) |
| Power play | 1 for 2 | 1 for 4 |
| Penalty minutes | 8 | 4 |
| Hits | 14 | 21 |
| Blocked shots | 15 | 8 |
| Faceoffs won | 31 of 50 (62%) | 19 of 50 (38%) |
| Giveaways / takeaways | 15 / 7 | 18 / 4 |
Three Stars of the Game
The NHL’s three stars were Newhook (two goals), Fowler (26 saves on 28 shots) and Nylander (one goal).
Canadiens Players
Alexandre Texier played his 300th NHL game, 201 with Columbus, 39 with St. Louis and, on Saturday, his 60th with the Canadiens, and he led the team with four shots on goal. Average ice time below is per game this season.
| Player | G | A | PTS | SOG | Avg TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Newhook | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 16:22 |
| Chris Kreider | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 13:38 |
| Zachary Bolduc | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 14:06 |
| Cole Caufield | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 18:32 |
| Kirby Dach | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10:58 |
| Oliver Kapanen | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12:10 |
| Kaiden Guhle | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 23:18 |
| Lane Hutson | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 24:52 |
| Alexandre Texier | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13:17 |
| Noah Dobson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20:58 |
Coach’s Take
The Canadiens played a solid game in Toronto. The effort was there, they competed hard, and their game management and puck management were excellent. Discipline is the one area that keeps hurting them. Whether you agree with the calls or not, the Habs have to be smarter. Carrier and Slafkovský both took high-sticking penalties, and Xhekaj had no reason to brake hard in front of the goalie and spray snow in his face, which led to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Martin St-Louis was very proud of how the team played, and the details he talked about were the right ones: limit the opponent’s chances in front of the net, do not give up many 2-on-1s or breakaways, and control the puck. In my eyes, the biggest improvement is the gap control in all three zones. The Canadiens took away the space the Leafs need to play, and that is what kept the chances under control.
The special teams were not bad. Montreal scored once on its two power plays and held Toronto to one goal on four chances, against a power play that came in at about 28 percent. The faceoffs were another strong area. Toronto is one of the better faceoff teams in the league, eighth in the NHL at about 52 percent, and Montreal still won 62 percent of the draws, 31 of 50. Three centers finished above 55 percent: Suzuki at 66.7, Evans at 61.5 and Danault at 55.6.
Finally, Jacob Fowler did another great job. His saves on Auston Matthews in the first period, including the one on the back door, were big, and he made the right saves at the right time to keep Montreal in front when the lead was down to 3-2. He has now posted a save percentage over .900 in five of his 10 games and allowed three goals or fewer in eight of them.
Next Up
The Canadiens are back at the Bell Centre on Tuesday, November 10, against Minnesota, in a game where the team will honour Carey Price on the night after his Hockey Hall of Fame induction. They visit Boston on Thursday, November 12. Read our look at Price’s career, Carey Price: From Anahim Lake to the Hall of Fame, and our preview of this game.
Sources: official NHL statistics, game data and NHL.com, MoneyPuck, HockeyStatCards and RDS.
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